Method and apparatus for transmitting cell information in wireless communication system

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for transmitting mobile relay node (MRN) cell information in a wireless communication system is provided. A source donor eNodeB (DeNB) receives MRN cell information of an MRN cell from an MRN, and forwards the MRN cell information to a target DeNB when a handover procedure for the MRN is performed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is the National Phase of PCT International ApplicationNo. PCT/KR2013/003748, filed on Apr. 30, 2013, which claims priorityunder 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/641,309,filed on May 2, 2012. All of which are hereby expressly incorporated byreference into the present application.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to wireless communications, and moreparticularly, to a method and apparatus for transmitting cellinformation in a wireless communication system.

BACKGROUND ART

Universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) is a 3rd generation(3G) asynchronous mobile communication system operating in wideband codedivision multiple access (WCDMA) based on European systems, globalsystem for mobile communications (GSM) and general packet radio services(GPRS). The long-term evolution (LTE) of UMTS is under discussion by the3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) that standardized UMTS.

Relaying is a technology that intermediates data between a userequipment (UE) and an eNodeB (eNB). 3GPP LTE-A (advanced) may supportrelaying by having a relay node (RN) wirelessly connect to an eNBserving the RN via an evolved universal terrestrial radio access(E-UTRA) radio interface. It may be referred to a section 4.7 of 3rdgeneration partnership project (3GPP) TS 36.300 V10.2.0 (2010-12). Arelay node wirelessly communicates with an eNB supporting relay, andthus can support capacity assistance of a shadow region or coverageextension through a service for UEs located in a cell boundary regionand outside the boundary region. The eNB serving the RN may be referredas a donor eNB (DeNB). The DeNB requires several additional functionsfor supporting relay. When there is an access of the relay node, theDeNB can perform a reconfiguration task to provide information requiredfor relay and system information through dedicated signaling.

The RN may support eNB functionality so that the RN can be used forcoverage improvement, supporting high data rate, and so on. It meansthat the RN terminates the radio protocols of the E-UTRA radiointerface, and S1 and X2 interfaces. In addition to the eNBfunctionality, the RN may also support a subset of UE functionality,e.g., a physical layer, layer-2, radio resource control (RRC), andnon-access stratum (NAS) functionality, in order to wirelessly connectto the DeNB. That is, the relay node can operate as a relay-type UE withrespect to the DeNB, and can operate as an eNB with respect to a servedUE.

The RN has two interfaces which are Un interface and Uu interface. TheUn interface is a link between the eNB and the RN and the Uu interfaceis a link between the RN and the UE. The Un interface is a modifiedversion of the E-UTRA radio interface. Depending on a type of the RN,whether an RN subframe configuration is required may be determined. TheRN subframe refers to a downlink subframe allocated for thecommunication between the DeNB and the RN. If the RN subframe isnecessary for the relay operation, the relay may request to the DeNBduring an RRC connection setup procedure.

The RN may be classified to a fixed relay node and a mobile relay node(MRN). Recently, the MRN is considered as one of the issues in relayarea. There is an increasing desire to use mobile broadband on publictransportation especially on high speed trains. Providing high qualityof service in fast moving environments is challenging due to challengingradio conditions as well as high and bursty signaling load. Foraddressing these issues, the MRN is raised as one of the solutions.

As the MRN moves, a location of a cell served by the MRN also may bechanged. In this case, a physical cell identity (PCI) of the MRN cellserved by the MRN may collide with a PCI of a neighbor cell.

Accordingly, a method of preventing the PCI of the MRN cell fromcolliding with the PCI of the neighbor cell is required.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for transmittingcell information in a wireless communication system. The presentinvention provides a method for reporting, by a mobile relay node whichis moving, cell information of itself to a base station.

Solution to Problem

In an aspect, a method of transmitting, by a source donor eNodeB (DeNB),mobile relay node (MRN) cell information in a wireless communicationsystem is provided. The method includes receiving MRN cell informationof an MRN cell from an MRN, forwarding the MRN cell information to atarget DeNB when a handover procedure for the MRN is performed.

The MRN cell information may be received when the MRN initially attachesto a network as a RN, or when a handover from one DeNB to another DeNBis completed, or when the MRN establishes/reestablishes a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) connection.

The MRN cell information may include at least one of physical cellidentity (PCI) information of the MRN cell, an MRN indicator, a cellglobal identity of the MRN cell, a tracking area code, and a public landmobile network (PLMN) identity list.

The MRN cell information may be received included in one of an RRCconnection setup complete message, an RRC connection reestablishmentcomplete message, an RRC connection reconfiguration complete message, ora new uplink message.

The MRN cell information may be forwarded to the target DeNB through anX2 or an S1 interface.

In another aspect, a source donor eNodeB (DeNB) in a wirelesscommunication system is provided. The source DeNB includes a radiofrequency (RF) unit for transmitting or receiving a radio signal, and aprocessor coupled to the RF unit, and configured for receiving MRN cellinformation of an MRN cell from an MRN, forwarding the MRN cellinformation to a target DeNB when a handover procedure for the MRN isperformed.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

A base station may acknowledge that a specific cell identity of a cellserved by a mobile relay node may be the same as a cell identity of aneighbor cell. When a user equipment (UE) tries to handover to a cellhaving the specific cell identity, the base station may prevent the UEperforming a handover procedure to a wrong cell using cell informationof the mobile relay node.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a structure of a wireless communication system.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a radio interface protocol architecture fora control plane.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a radio interface protocol architecture fora user plane.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a physical channel structure.

FIG. 5 shows an example of an E-UTRAN architecture for managing an HeNBby using an HeNB gateway (GW).

FIG. 6 shows an example of a method of checking an access mode of a basestation by a UE.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a cell reselection procedure when a UE campson a CSG cell.

FIG. 8 shows an example of an inbound mobility procedure.

FIG. 9 shows an example of deployment of a relay node.

FIG. 10 shows an example of deployments scenario of a MRN at a highspeed train.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a PCI collision problem.

FIG. 12 shows another example of a PCI collision problem.

FIG. 13 shows an example of a method for transmitting MRN cellinformation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 shows another example of a method for transmitting MRN cellinformation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing wireless communication system toimplement an embodiment of the present invention.

MODE FOR THE INVENTION

The technology described below can be used in various wirelesscommunication systems such as code division multiple access (CDMA),frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access(TDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), singlecarrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA), etc. The CDMA canbe implemented with a radio technology such as universal terrestrialradio access (UTRA) or CDMA-2000. The TDMA can be implemented with aradio technology such as global system for mobile communications(GSM)/general packet ratio service (GPRS)/enhanced data rate for GSMevolution (EDGE). The OFDMA can be implemented with a radio technologysuch as institute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) 802.11(Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), etc.IEEE 802.16m is evolved from IEEE 802.16e, and provides backwardcompatibility with a system based on the IEEE 802.16e. The UTRA is apart of a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS). 3^(rd)generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) is apart of an evolved UMTS (E-UMTS) using the E-UTRA. The 3GPP LTE uses theOFDMA in a downlink and uses the SC-FDMA in an uplink. LTE-advanced(LTE-A) is an evolution of the LTE.

For clarity, the following description will focus on LTE-A. However,technical features of the present invention are not limited thereto.

FIG. 1 shows a structure of a wireless communication system.

The structure of FIG. 1 is an example of a network structure of anevolved-UMTS terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN). An E-UTRANsystem may be a 3GPP LTE/LTE-A system. An evolved-UMTS terrestrial radioaccess network (E-UTRAN) includes a user equipment (UE) 10 and a basestation (BS) 20 which provides a control plane and a user plane to theUE. The user equipment (UE) 10 may be fixed or mobile, and may bereferred to as another terminology, such as a mobile station (MS), auser terminal (UT), a subscriber station (SS), a wireless device, etc.The BS 20 is generally a fixed station that communicates with the UE 10and may be referred to as another terminology, such as an evolved node-B(eNB), a base transceiver system (BTS), an access point, etc. There areone or more cells within the coverage of the BS 20. A single cell isconfigured to have one of bandwidths selected from 1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, and20 MHz, etc., and provides downlink or uplink transmission services toseveral UEs. In this case, different cells can be configured to providedifferent bandwidths.

Interfaces for transmitting user traffic or control traffic may be usedbetween the BSs 20. The BSs 20 are interconnected by means of an X2interface. The BSs 20 are connected to an evolved packet core (EPC) bymeans of an S1 interface. The EPC may consist of a mobility managemententity (MME) 30, a serving gateway (S-GW), and a packet data network(PDN) gateway (PDN-GW). The MME has UE access information or UEcapability information, and such information may be primarily used in UEmobility management. The S-GW is a gateway of which an endpoint is anE-UTRAN. The PDN-GW is a gateway of which an endpoint is a PDN. The BSs20 are connected to the MME 30 by means of an S1-MME, and are connectedto the S-GW by means of S1-U. The S1 interface supports a many-to-manyrelation between the BS 20 and the MME/S-GW 30.

Hereinafter, a downlink (DL) denotes communication from the BS 20 to theUE 10, and an uplink (UL) denotes communication from the UE 10 to the BS20. In the DL, a transmitter may be a part of the BS 20, and a receivermay be a part of the UE 10. In the UL, the transmitter may be a part ofthe UE 10, and the receiver may be a part of the BS 20.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a radio interface protocol architecture fora control plane. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a radio interface protocolarchitecture for a user plane.

Layers of a radio interface protocol between the UE and the E-UTRAN canbe classified into a first layer (L1), a second layer (L2), and a thirdlayer (L3) based on the lower three layers of the open systeminterconnection (OSI) model that is well-known in the communicationsystem. The radio interface protocol between the UE and the E-UTRAN canbe horizontally divided into a physical layer, a data link layer, and anetwork layer, and can be vertically divided into a control plane whichis a protocol stack for control signal transmission and a user planewhich is a protocol stack for data information transmission. The layersof the radio interface protocol exist in pairs at the UE and theE-UTRAN.

A physical (PHY) layer belonging to the L1 provides an upper layer withan information transfer service through a physical channel. The PHYlayer is connected to a medium access control (MAC) layer which is anupper layer of the PHY layer through a transport channel. Data istransferred between the MAC layer and the PHY layer through thetransport channel. The transport channel is classified according to howand with what characteristics data is transmitted through a radiointerface. Between different PHY layers, i.e., a PHY layer of atransmitter and a PHY layer of a receiver, data is transferred throughthe physical channel. The physical channel is modulated using anorthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) scheme, and utilizestime and frequency as a radio resource.

The PHY layer uses several physical control channels. A physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) reports to a UE about resourceallocation of a paging channel (PCH) and a downlink shared channel(DL-SCH), and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) information relatedto the DL-SCH. The PDCCH can carry a UL grant for reporting to the UEabout resource allocation of UL transmission. A physical control formatindicator channel (PCFICH) reports the number of OFDM symbols used forPDCCHs to the UE, and is transmitted in every subframe. A physicalhybrid ARQ indicator channel (PHICH) carries an HARQ ACK/NACK signal inresponse to UL transmission. A physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)carries UL control information such as HARQ ACK/NACK for DLtransmission, scheduling request, and CQI. A physical uplink sharedchannel (PUSCH) carries a UL-uplink shared channel (SCH).

FIG. 4 shows an example of a physical channel structure.

A physical channel consists of a plurality of subframes in a time domainand a plurality of subcarriers in a frequency domain. One subframeconsists of a plurality of symbols in the time domain. One subframeconsists of a plurality of resource blocks (RBs). One RB consists of aplurality of symbols and a plurality of subcarriers. In addition, eachsubframe can use specific subcarriers of specific symbols of acorresponding subframe for a PDCCH. For example, a first symbol of thesubframe can be used for the PDCCH. A transmission time interval (TTI)which is a unit time for data transmission may be equal to a length ofone subframe.

A DL transport channel for transmitting data from the network to the UEincludes a broadcast channel (BCH) for transmitting system information,a paging channel (PCH) for transmitting a paging message, a DL-SCH fortransmitting user traffic or control signals, etc. The systeminformation carries one or more system information blocks. All systeminformation blocks can be transmitted with the same periodicity. Trafficor control signals of a multimedia broadcast/multicast service (MBMS)are transmitted through a multicast channel (MCH). Meanwhile, a ULtransport channel for transmitting data from the UE to the networkincludes a random access channel (RACH) for transmitting an initialcontrol message, a UL-SCH for transmitting user traffic or controlsignals, etc.

A MAC layer belonging to the L2 provides a service to a higher layer,i.e., a radio link control (RLC), through a logical channel. A functionof the MAC layer includes mapping between the logical channel and thetransport channel and multiplexing/de-multiplexing for a transport blockprovided to a physical channel on a transport channel of a MAC servicedata unit (SDU) belonging to the logical channel. The logical channel islocated above the transport channel, and is mapped to the transportchannel. The logical channel can be divided into a control channel fordelivering control region information and a traffic channel fordelivering user region information. The logical includes a broadcastcontrol channel (BCCH), a paging control channel (PCCH), a commoncontrol channel (CCCH), a multicast control channel (MCCH), a multicasttraffic channel (MTCH), etc.

An RLC layer belonging to the L2 supports reliable data transmission. Afunction of the RLC layer includes RLC SDU concatenation, segmentation,and reassembly. To ensure a variety of quality of service (QoS) requiredby a radio bearer (RB), the RLC layer provides three operation modes,i.e., a transparent mode (TM), an unacknowledged mode (UM), and anacknowledged mode (AM). The AM RLC provides error correction by using anautomatic repeat request (ARQ). Meanwhile, a function of the RLC layercan be implemented with a functional block inside the MAC layer. In thiscase, the RLC layer may not exist.

A packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer belongs to the L2. Afunction of a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer in the userplane includes user data delivery, header compression, and ciphering.The header compression has a function for decreasing a size of an IPpacket header which contains relatively large-sized and unnecessarycontrol information, to support effective transmission in a radiosection having a narrow bandwidth. A function of a PDCP layer in thecontrol plane includes control-plane data delivery andciphering/integrity protection.

A radio resource control (RRC) layer belonging to the L3 is defined onlyin the control plane. The RRC layer takes a role of controlling a radioresource between the UE and the network. For this, the UE and thenetwork exchange an RRC message through the RRC layer. The RRC layerserves to control the logical channel, the transport channel, and thephysical channel in association with configuration, reconfiguration, andrelease of RBs. An RB is a logical path provided by the L2 for datadelivery between the UE and the network. The configuration of the RBimplies a process for specifying a radio protocol layer and channelproperties to provide a particular service and for determiningrespective detailed parameters and operations. The RB can be classifiedinto two types, i.e., a signaling RB (SRB) and a data RB (DRB). The SRBis used as a path for transmitting an RRC message in the control plane.The DRB is used as a path for transmitting user data in the user plane.

An RRC state indicates whether the RRC of the UE is logically connectedto the RRC of the E-UTRAN. When an RRC connection is established betweenan RRC layer of the UE and an RRC layer of the network, the UE is in anRRC connected state (RRC_CONNECTED), and otherwise the UE is in an RRCidle state (RRC_IDLE). Since the UE in RRC_CONNECTED has the RRCconnection established with the E-UTRAN, the E-UTRAN can recognize theexistence of the UE in RRC_CONNECTED and can effectively control the UE.Meanwhile, the UE in RRC_IDLE cannot be recognized by the E-UTRAN, and acore network (CN) manages the UE in unit of a tracking area (TA) whichis a larger area than a cell. That is, only the existence of the UE inRRC_IDLE is recognized in unit of a large area, and the UE musttransition to RRC_CONNECTED to receive a typical mobile communicationservice such as voice or data communication.

When the user initially powers on the UE, the UE first searches for aproper cell and then remains in RRC_IDLE in the cell. When there is aneed to establish an RRC connection, the UE which remains in RRC_IDLEmay establish the RRC connection with the RRC of the E-UTRAN through anRRC connection procedure and then may transition to RRC_CONNECTED. TheUE which remains in RRC_IDLE may need to establish the RRC connectionwith the E-UTRAN when uplink data transmission is necessary due to auser's call attempt or the like or when there is a need to transmit aresponse message upon receiving a paging message from the E-UTRAN.

The UE which remains in RRC_IDLE can persistently perform cellreselection to find a better cell. In this case, the UE can performmeasurement and cell reselection by using frequency priorityinformation. That is, the UE can determine which frequency will bepreferentially considered when performing frequency measurement and cellreselection on the basis of the frequency priority information. The UEcan receive the frequency priority information by using systeminformation or an RRC connection release message, or can receive thefrequency priority information from another radio access technology(RAT) in inter-RAT cell reselection.

Hereinafter, measuring and measurement reporting will be described.

It is necessary to support mobility of a UE in a mobile communicationsystem. Therefore, the UE can persistently measure quality of a servingcell which currently provides a service and quality of a neighbor cell.The UE can report a measurement result to a network at a proper time,and the network can provide optimal mobility to the UE by using ahandover or the like. For this, a base station can configure informationregarding the measuring and the measurement reporting to the UE. Theinformation regarding the measuring and measurement reporting mayinclude a measurement object, a reporting configuration, a measurementidentity, a quantity configuration, a measurement gap, etc.

-   -   Measurement object: It indicates a target for which the UE        performs measurement. The target for which the UE performs        measurement can be classified into three types, i.e.,        intra-frequency measurement for a cell having a center frequency        equal to that of a serving cell, inter-frequency measurement for        a cell having a center frequency different from that of the        serving cell, and inter-RAT measurement for a heterogeneous        network. The heterogeneous network may include a GSM/EDGE radio        access network (GERAN) and a UMTS terrestrial radio access        network (UTRAN) conforming to a 3GPP standard specification and        a CDMA 2000 system conforming to a 3GPP2 standard specification.    -   Reporting configuration: It includes a reporting criterion        indicating a criterion for performing measurement reporting and        a reporting format indicating the content included in the        measurement reporting. The reporting criterion can be classified        into an event-based trigger type and a periodical-based trigger        type. In the event-based trigger type, the measurement reporting        is performed when a predetermined specific condition is        satisfied. In the periodical-based trigger type, when the UE        acquires information desired by the eNB, the information is        first reported to the eNB, and thereafter reporting is performed        whenever a specific time elapses. The event-based trigger type        may include various events such as A1 (a case where the quality        of the serving cell is better than a threshold), A2 (a case        where the quality of the serving cell is worse than the        threshold), A3 (a case where the quality of the neighbor cell is        better than that of a PCell by an offset), A4 (a case where the        quality of the neighbor cell is better than the threshold), A5        (a case where the quality of the PCell is worse than a threshold        1 and the quality of the neighbor cell is better than a        threshold 2), A6 (a case where the quality of the neighbor cell        is better than that of an SCell by the offset), B1 (a case where        the quality of an inter-RAT neighbor cell is better than the        threshold), B2 (a case where the quality of the PCell is worse        than the threshold 1 and the quality of the inter-RAT neighbor        cell is better than the threshold 2), etc.    -   Measurement identity: It indicates a linkage which links a        measurement object and a reporting configuration.    -   Quantity configuration: It indicates information on filtering        performed for the measurement result of the UE.    -   Measurement gap: It indicates a duration in which the UE is        allowed to perform measurement. UL and DL data transmissions are        not achieved in the measurement gap.

A Home (e)NodeB (H(e)NB) will be described in detail.

A mobile communication may be provided by base stations owned by anindividual, a specific provider or a specific provider group other thanmobile communication network providers. Such base station is called as ahome NodeB (HNB) or home eNodeB (HeNB). Hereinafter, both the HNB andHeNB are commonly designated as an H(e)NB. An object of the H(e)NB isbasically to provide specialized services only to a member of the CSG.However, those services may be provided to other users in addition tothe CSG based on the operation mode setting of the H(e)NB.

FIG. 5 shows an example of an E-UTRAN architecture for managing an HeNBby using an HeNB gateway (GW). It may be referred to a section 4.6.1 of3GPP TS 36.300 V9.3.0 (2010-03).

Referring to FIG. 5, an E-UTRAN may include one or more eNB 50, one ormore HeNB 51 and a HeNB GW 58. One or more E-UTRAN MME/S-GW 59 may bepositioned at the end of the network and connected to an externalnetwork. The one or more eNB 50 may be connected to each other throughthe X2 interface. The one or more eNB 50 may be connected to theMME/S-GW 59 through the S1 interface. The HeNB GW 58 may be connected tothe MME/S-GW 59 through the S1 interface. The one or more HeNB 51 may beconnected to the HeNB GW 58 through the S1 interface or may be connectedto the MME/S-GW 59 through the S1 interface. The one or more HeNB 51 maynot be connected to each other.

As described in FIG. 5, the E-UTRAN may manage HeNB GW 58 for servingone or more HeNB 51. HeNBs may be connected to an EPC via an HeNB GW ordirectly connected to the EPC. Here, the HeNB GW is regarded as a normalBS to MME. Also, the HeNB GW is regarded as the MME to the HeNB.Therefore, an S1 interface is connected between the HeNB and the HeNBGW, and also an S1 interface is connected between the HeNB GW and theEPC. Furthermore, even in case of directly connecting between the HeNBand the EPC, it is connected via an S1 interface. The function of theHeNB is almost similar to the function of a normal BS.

In general, an H(e)NB has a low radio transmission output power comparedto the BS owned by mobile communication service providers. Therefore,the service coverage provided by the H(e)NB is typically smaller thanthe service coverage provided by a (e)NB. Due to such characteristics,the cell provided by the H(e)NB is classified as a femto cell incontrast to a macro cell provided by the (e)NB from a standpoint of theservice coverage. From a standpoint of provided services, when theH(e)NB provides those services only to a closed subscriber group (CSG),the cell provided by this H(e)NB is referred to as a CSG cell.

Each CSG may have its own identifier which is called a CSG ID (CSGidentity). The UE may have a CSG list to which the UE itself belongs asa member thereof, and this CSG list may be changed by a request of theUE or a command of the network. This list is called as a CSG whitelist.Generally, one H(e)NB may support one CSG.

The H(e)NB may deliver the CSG ID of the CSG being supported by itselfthrough system information, thereby allowing only the corresponding CSGmember UE to be accessed. When a CSG cell is found by the UE, the UE maycheck which type of CSG is supported by this CSG cell by reading the CSGID included in the system information. The UE that has read the CSG IDregards the corresponding cell as an accessible cell only if the UEitself is a member of the corresponding CSG cell or the CSGcorresponding to the CSG ID is included in the UE's CSG whitelist.

It is not always required for H(e)NB to allow the CSG UE to be accessed.Based on a configuration setting of H(e)NB, non-CSG member UE may beallowed to be accessed. The type of the UE allowed to be accessed may bechanged based on the configuration setting of H(e)NB. Here, theconfiguration setting denotes a setting of the access mode (or may becalled as operation mode) of H(e)NB. The operation mode of H(e)NB can bedivided into three types as follows based on to which type of the UE theH(e)NB provides a service.

1) Closed access mode: A mode in which services are provided toparticular CSG members only. A CSG cell is provided by the H(e)NB.

2) Open access mode: A mode in which services are provided without anyrestriction of particular CSG members like normal (e)NB. The H(e)NBprovides a normal cell not a CSG cell. For clarity, a macro cell is acell operated by the open access mode.

3) Hybrid access mode: A mode in which CSG services are provided toparticular CSG members and also services are provided to non-CSG memberslike a normal cell. It is recognized as a CSG cell for the CSG memberUE, and recognized as a normal cell for the non-CSG member UE. This cellis called a hybrid cell.

The H(e)NB notifies the UE that the cell being serviced by itself is aCSG cell or a normal cell, allowing the UE to know whether or not it canbe accessed to the corresponding cell. The H(e)NB being operated in aclosed access mode broadcasts via the system information that it is aCSG cell. In this manner, the H(e)NB allows the system information toinclude a CSG indicator, which has a size of 1 bit, indicating whetheror not the cell being serviced by itself is a CSG cell in the systeminformation. For example, the CSG cell broadcasts by setting the CSGindicator to ‘TRUE’. If the cell being serviced is not a CSG cell, thenthe CSG indicator may be set to ‘FALSE’ or the transmission of the CSGindicator may be omitted. The UE shall distinguish a normal cell from aCSG cell, and thus a normal BS may also transmit the CSG indicator (forexample, the CSG indicator set to ‘FALSE’), thereby allowing the UE toknow that the cell type provided by itself is a normal cell.Furthermore, the normal BS may not transmit the CSG indicator, therebyallowing the UE to know that the cell type provided by itself is anormal cell, too.

Table 1 show CSG-related parameters transmitted by the correspondingcell, included in the system information, for each cell type.

TABLE 1 CSG Cell Typical Cell CSG ‘CSG Cell’ is indicated ‘Non-CSG cell’is indicated, or Indicator not transmitted CSG ID Supported CSG ID isNot transmitted transmitted

Table 2 shows types of the UE allowed to be accessed for each cell type.

TABLE 2 CSG Cell Typical Cell UE not supporting CSG Access denied Accessaccepted Non-CSG member UE Access denied Access accepted CSG member UEAccess accepted Access accepted

FIG. 6 shows an example of a method of checking an access mode of a basestation by a UE.

At step S60, the UE checks a CSG indicator in system information of atarget cell in order to confirm which type the target cell is.

After checking the CSG indicator, the UE determines whether the CSGindicator indicates that the target cell is a CSG Cell at step S61. Ifthe CSG indicator indicates that the target cell is a CSG cell, then theUE recognizes the corresponding cell as the CSG cell at step S62.

At step S63, the UE checks the CSG ID in the system information in orderto check whether or not the UE itself is a CSG member of the targetcell. At step S64, the UE determines whether the UE is a member of thecorresponding CSG cell. If it is checked from the CSG ID that the UE isa CSG member of the target cell, then the corresponding cell will berecognized as an accessible CSG cell at step S65. If it is checked fromthe CSG ID that the UE is not a CSG member of the target cell, then thecorresponding cell will be recognized as an inaccessible CSG cell atstep S66.

If the CSG indicator indicates that the target cell is not a CSG cell atstep S61, then the UE recognizes the target cell as a normal cell atstep S67. Furthermore, if the CSG indicator is not transmitted at stepS60, the UE recognizes the target cell as a normal cell.

In general, CSG cells and macro cells may be concurrently managed in aparticular frequency. A CSG dedicated frequency is a frequency in whichCSG cells exist only. A mixed carrier frequency is a frequency in whichCSG cells and macro cells exist. The network may reserve specificphysical layer cell identifiers for the CSG cell in a mixed carrierfrequency. The physical layer cell identifier is called as a physicalcell identity (PCI) in the E-UTRAN, and called as a physical scramblingcode (PSC) in the UTRAN. For clarity, the physical layer cell identifierwill be expressed by the PCI. The CSG cell notifies information on thePCI reserved for the CSG cell at a current frequency via the systeminformation. The UE that received this information can determine whetheror not this cell is a CSG cell from the PCI of the cell when a certaincell is found at the corresponding frequency. How this information beingused by the UE will be illustrated below in case of two types of UE.

-   -   A UE not supporting the CSG-related function or having no CSG        list to which the UE itself belongs: the UE does not need to        regard a CSG cell as a selectable cell during the cell        selection/reselection process or handover. In this case, the UE        checks only the PCI of the cell, and then the UE may immediately        eliminate the corresponding cell during the cell        selection/reselection process or handover if the PCI is a        reserved PCI for the CSG. Typically, the PCI of a certain cell        may be immediately known during a process of checking the        existence of the corresponding cell in a physical layer by the        UE.    -   A UE having a CSG list to which the UE itself belongs: when the        UE wants to know a list of the neighboring CSG cells at a mixed        carrier frequency, it may be known that the corresponding cell        is a CSG cell if only a cell having the PCI reserved for CSG is        found, instead of individually checking the CSG identity of the        system information of every cell found in the whole PCI range.

A cell reselection procedure related to a CSG cell will be described.

A CSG cell is a cell for providing better-quality services, i.e., CSGservices, to its member UEs. Since the UE may be typically serviced withbetter quality of service (QoS) in a CSG cell than in non-CSG cell, whenthe UE camps on the CSG cell, the selection of another cell may not beappropriate in terms of QoS even if an inter-frequency of a higherpriority than a serving frequency is found.

In order to prevent a cell at an inter-frequency of a higher prioritythan a serving frequency from being selected over a serving CSG cellduring the cell reselection procedure, a UE may assume the servingfrequency to have the highest priority of all other frequencies as longas the serving CSG cell is evaluated as the best-ranked cell on thecorresponding frequency. When the UE gives the highest priority to aspecific frequency without any explicit network signaling, thisfrequency priority may be called as an implicit highest priority. Inthis manner, it is possible to help the UE camp on the CSG cell as muchas possible without violating the existing cell reselection rule thatcell reselection is performed based on the priorities of frequencies.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a cell reselection procedure when a UE campson a CSG cell.

At step S70, the UE camps on a CSG cell.

Since a serving cell of the UE is the CSG cell, an implicit highestpriority may be assigned to a serving frequency at step S71.

At step S72, the UE may measure the quality of the serving CSG cell anda neighboring cell.

At step S73, the UE may apply a normal reselection rule based on themeasurement results performed at step S72. More specifically, the UE maysearch a best ranked cell in a frequency of a higher priority than theserving frequency. If no best-ranked cell is found from the frequency ofa higher priority than the serving frequency, the UE may search the bestranked cell in a frequency having the same priority as that of theserving frequency. If no best-ranked cell is found from the frequencyhaving the same priority as that of the serving frequency, the UE maysearch the best ranked cell in a frequency of a lower priority than theserving frequency.

If a new cell is found at step S74, the UE may reselect the new cell atstep S75. If a new cell is not found at step S74, the UE may measure thequality of the serving CSG cell and a neighboring cell again.

If the reselected cell is a non-CSG cell, the UE may withdraw theimplicit highest priority assigned to the serving CSG cell, and may usefrequency priorities provided by a network for cell reselection.

If the UE finds a new best-ranked CSG cell from a frequency having thesame priority as that of the serving frequency, the UE may decidewhether to stay in the current serving CSG cell or reselect the newbest-ranked CSG cell according to an implementation of the UE.

An inbound mobility procedure for the CSG will be described.

The inbound mobility is a handover from a macro cell to a CSG cell. Theinbound mobility procedure has two objects. The first object of theinbound mobility procedure is to solve PCI/PSC confusion. The secondobject of the inbound mobility procedure a preliminary access checkwhich is a process to pre-recognize whether the UE is a member ornon-member of a CSG cell to which the UE intends to move. The PCI/PSCconfusion is caused when one or more H(e)NBs share the same PCI/PSC dueto PCI/PSC shortage in a case where many CSG cells are installed. Inthis case, the network does not know to which cell the network make theUE be handed over. In order to reduce a handover failure, the inboundmobility procedure needs to consider the PCI confusion and thepreliminary access check. For this, the UE has to be able to read systeminformation of a target cell before a handover and has to be able totransmit necessary information to the network.

FIG. 8 shows an example of an inbound mobility procedure.

In an intra-frequency inbound motility procedure, the UE performs afinger print matching and starts measurement at step S80. At step S81,the UE transmits a proximity indication in a new message. The proximityindication informs the network that the UE had been handed over to thecorresponding CSG cell previously. At step S84, if event triggers, theUE transmits a measurement report. At step S85, the UE receives a systeminformation reading command from an eNB. At step S86, the UE starts toacquire system information. At step S87, the UE determines whether toacquire the system information. If the UE acquire the systeminformation, the UE transmits the measurement report with a global cellidentifier (GC), a tracking area identifier (TAI), a PCI, a CSI ID, anda public land mobile network (PLMN) list at step S88. If the UE does notacquire the system information, the UE transmits the measurement reportwithout the system information at step S89.

In an inter-frequency inbound motility procedure, the UE performs afinger print matching at step S80. At step S81, the UE transmits aproximity indication in a new message. The proximity indication informsthe network that the UE had been handed over to the corresponding CSGcell previously. At step S82, the UE receive a measurement configurationusing the proximity indication. At step S83, the UE starts measurement.At step S84, if event triggers, the UE transmits a measurement report.At step S85, the UE receives a system information reading command froman eNB. At step S86, the UE starts to acquire system information. Atstep S87, the UE determines whether to acquire the system information.If the UE acquire the system information, the UE transmits themeasurement report with a global cell identifier (GC), a tracking areaidentifier (TAI), a PCI, a CSI ID, and a public land mobile network(PLMN) list at step S88. If the UE does not acquire the systeminformation, the UE transmits the measurement report without the systeminformation at step S89.

In a UTRAN inter-frequency handover procedure, the UE can read thesystem information without a command of the network.

Relaying and a mobile relay node will be described.

FIG. 9 shows an example of deployment of a relay node.

Referring to FIG. 9, UE1 91, UE2 92, and UE3 93 are connected to a relaynode (RN) 95 through a Uu interface. The relay node 95 is connected to adonor eNB (DeNB) 99 through a Un interface. The UE1 91, UE2 92, and UE393 may transmit data to the DeNB 99 or receive data from the DeNB 99 viathe RN 95.

The RN 95 may manage the UE1 91, UE2 92, and UE3 93 instead of the DeNB99. That is, from a position of the UE1 91, UE2 92, and UE3 93, the RN95 is seen as a DeNB. Therefore, the Uu interface between the UE1 91,UE2 92, UE3 93, and the RN 95 may use conventional Uu interface protocolsuch as MAC/RLC/PDCP/RRC used in the 3GPP LTE.

From a position of the DeNB 99, the RN 95 may be seen as a UE or an eNBaccording to a situation. When the RN 95 accesses to the DeNB 99initially, the RN 95 performs a random access, like a UE, because theDeNB 99 does not know the presence of the RN 95. After the RN 95accesses to the DeNB 99, the RN 95 may operates as an eNB which managesUEs connected to the DeNB 99. Therefore, the Un interface protocol maybe defined as the Uu interface protocol with a network protocolfunctionality.

The RN may be classified into an inband RN and an outband RN accordingto radio resources (e.g., frequency) used by the Un interface and the Uuinterface. The inband RN is a relay node that the Un interface and theUu interface use the same frequency. In this case, subframes for the Uninterface and the Uu interface may be allocated respectively foravoiding interference between the Un interface and the Uu interface eachother. The outband RN is a relay node that the Un interface and the Uuinterface use different frequencies. In this case, there is no need toconsider interference between the Un interface and the Uu interface.

An MRN is a relay node having mobility. The MRN is typically installedat a mass transportation with a high speed. The MRN may be mounted onthe top of a train and serves UEs inside carriages.

FIG. 10 shows an example of deployments scenario of a MRN at a highspeed train.

Referring to FIG. 10, the MRN is installed in a high speed train. Userequipments in the high speed train do not move or move at a speed of a.Coverage of the MRN may correspond to the entirety of the high speedtrain or each of cars constituting the high speed train. The MRN maycommunicate with UEs in the high speed train through an access link. Atpresent, the MRN is in coverage of an eNB1 supporting relay. The mobilerelay node may communicate with the eNB1 through a backhaul link. Whenthe high speed train moves, the MRN may enter coverage of an eNB2supporting relay. Accordingly, the MRN can be handed over from the eNB1to the eNB2.

As the high speed train moves across cells along a railway, the MRNmounted on the high speed trains also moves and a location of a cell ofthe MRN (hereinafter MRN cell) also may be changed. Accordingly, a PCIof the MRN cell may collide with PCIs of neighboring cells served byeNBs along a track or MRNs mounted on other trains that may meetsomewhere. The PCI collision problem may cause a handover reducing a QoSof the UE.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a PCI collision problem.

Referring to FIG. 11, a cell of a DeNB1 and an MRN cell have same PCI(PCI1). The MRN is currently in coverage of a cell of a DeNB2. A UE iscurrently served by the DeNB2 and moving towards the cell of the DeNB1and the MRN cell. The UE gets on a train on which the MRN is mounted. Adesirable behavior of the DeNB2 is to handover the UE to the MRN.However, since the DeNB2 does not know a cell identity of the MRN cell,it may handover the UE to the DeNB1 when the UE reports measurementresults with the PCI1 to the DeNB 2. This may result in a handoverfailure or call drop.

FIG. 12 shows another example of a PCI collision problem.

Referring to FIG. 12, two MRNs have same PCI (PCI2) and a UE iscurrently served by a DeNB1. The UE gets on a train on which an MRN1 ismounted. A desirable behavior of a source DeNB (DeNB1) is to handoverthe UE to the MRN1. However, the DeNB1 does not know there is a PCIcollision problem so that it is possible for the DeNB1 to handover theUE to the MRN2. This also may result in a handover failure and calldrop.

As described above, The PCI collision problem described above makes ahandover procedure a little more complex since a DeNB does not know theexact target as in the HeNB inbound handover procedure. Further steps toresolve the PCI collision problem from the DeNB point of view may berequired. That is, it is required that an additional procedure foracquiring, for the DeNB, cell identifiers other than the PCI, like CSGcells, for determining to which cell the DeNB handover the UE betweenthe MRN cell and a cell having the same PCI as the MRN cell. The PCI ofthe CSG cell may be restricted among PCIs reserved for CSG cells.Accordingly, in case of CSG cells, upon checking the PCI withmeasurement reports received from the UE, the DeNB may determine whetheran additional cell identification procedure is needed or not. On theother hand, there is no restricted PCI range for the MRN. Since the MRNmay have the same PCI as a macro cell, the DeNB does not acknowledgewhether an additional cell identification procedure is needed or not,even if the DeNB checks the PCI with measurement reports received fromthe UE. The DeNB does not know whether there is any possibility for thePCI collision problem. Consequently, the DeNB may not consider furthersteps to resolve the PCI collision problem.

Accordingly, in order to avoid the PCI collision problem describedabove, it may be proposed that a method of making, by an MRN, a networkknows MRN cell information of an MRN cell so that a DeNB is able todetermine whether there is possible PCI collision between a cell of aDeNB and the MRN cell or between MRN cells.

The MRN may notify the DeNB of the MRN cell information when:

-   -   the MRN initially attaches to the network as a RN;    -   the handover from one DeNB to another DeNB (inter-eNB handover)        is completed; or    -   the MRN establishes/reestablishes an RRC connection.

The MRN cell information may include at least one of followings:

-   -   PCI information of MRN cell    -   MRN indicator: This means the cell is of the cell of the MRN    -   Cell global identity of MRN cell    -   Tracking area code    -   PLMN identity list

Following messages may be used for transmission of the MRN cellinformation.

-   -   RRCConnectionSetupComplete    -   RRCConnectionReestablishmentComplete    -   RRCConnectionReconfigurationComplete    -   Other new UL messages

Upon receiving the MRN cell information from the MRN, the DeNB mayforward the MRN cell information to a target DeNB through X2 interfaceor S1 interface when the handover for the MRN is performed.

FIG. 13 shows an example of a method for transmitting MRN cellinformation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A MRN performs an RRC connection setup procedure with a source DeNB bytransmitting an RRC connection setup message to the source DeNB at stepS100, and receiving an RRC connection setup response message from thesource DeNB at step S110.

At step S120, upon receiving the RRC connection setup response message,the MRN transmits an RRC connection setup complete message to the sourceDeNB. In this case, the RRC connection setup complete message mayinclude MRN cell information of a MRN cell. The MRN cell information mayinclude a PCI of the MRN cell.

At step S130, the source DeNB transmits an RRC connectionreconfiguration message to the MRN. At step S140, the MRN measuresneighbor cells based on the received RRC connection reconfigurationmessage, and transmits a measurement report to the source DeNB if aresult of the measurement satisfies a specific condition. At step S150,the source DeNB determines whether to handover the MRN to a target DeNBbased on the received measurement report.

If the source DeNB determines to handover the MRN to the target DeNB,the source DeNB transmits a handover request message to the target DeNBat step S160. The handover request message may include the MRN cellinformation received from the MRN. That is, the source DeNB may forwardthe MRN cell information received from the MRN to the target DeNB.

At step S170, the target DeNB transmits a handover request acknowledgemessage to the source DeNB to a response of the handover requestmessage. At step S180, the source DeNB transmits an RRC connectionreconfiguration message including mobility control information to theMRN. Accordingly, the MRN may be handed over to the target DeNB.

FIG. 14 shows another example of a method for transmitting MRN cellinformation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

At step S200, the source DeNB receives MRN cell information of an MRNcell from a MRN. The source DeNB receives the MRN cell information whenthe MRN initially attaches to the network as a RN, when the handoverfrom one DeNB to another DeNB (inter-eNB handover) is completed, or whenthe MRN establishes/reestablishes an RRC connection. In addition, theMRN cell information may include at least one of PCI information of theMRN cell, an MRN indicator, a cell global identity of MRN cell, atracking area code, and a PLMN identity list.

At step S210, the source DeNB forwards the MRN cell information totarget DeNB when a handover procedure for the MRN is performed.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing wireless communication system toimplement an embodiment of the present invention.

An eNB 800 may include a processor 810, a memory 820 and a radiofrequency (RF) unit 830. The processor 810 may be configured toimplement proposed functions, procedures and/or methods described inthis description. Layers of the radio interface protocol may beimplemented in the processor 810. The memory 820 is operatively coupledwith the processor 810 and stores a variety of information to operatethe processor 810. The RF unit 830 is operatively coupled with theprocessor 810, and transmits and/or receives a radio signal.

A relay node 900 may include a processor 910, a memory 920 and a RF unit930. The processor 910 may be configured to implement proposedfunctions, procedures and/or methods described in this description.Layers of the radio interface protocol may be implemented in theprocessor 910. The memory 920 is operatively coupled with the processor910 and stores a variety of information to operate the processor 910.The RF unit 930 is operatively coupled with the processor 910, andtransmits and/or receives a radio signal.

The processors 810, 910 may include application-specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), other chipset, logic circuit and/or data processingdevice. The memories 820, 920 may include read-only memory (ROM), randomaccess memory (RAM), flash memory, memory card, storage medium and/orother storage device. The RF units 830, 930 may include basebandcircuitry to process radio frequency signals. When the embodiments areimplemented in software, the techniques described herein can beimplemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) thatperform the functions described herein. The modules can be stored inmemories 820, 920 and executed by processors 810, 910. The memories 820,920 can be implemented within the processors 810, 910 or external to theprocessors 810, 910 in which case those can be communicatively coupledto the processors 810, 910 via various means as is known in the art.

In view of the exemplary systems described herein, methodologies thatmay be implemented in accordance with the disclosed subject matter havebeen described with reference to several flow diagrams. While forpurposed of simplicity, the methodologies are shown and described as aseries of steps or blocks, it is to be understood and appreciated thatthe claimed subject matter is not limited by the order of the steps orblocks, as some steps may occur in different orders or concurrently withother steps from what is depicted and described herein. Moreover, oneskilled in the art would understand that the steps illustrated in theflow diagram are not exclusive and other steps may be included or one ormore of the steps in the example flow diagram may be deleted withoutaffecting the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of transmitting, by a source donoreNodeB (DeNB), mobile relay node (MRN) cell information in a wirelesscommunication system, the method comprising: receiving a firstmeasurement result with respect to an MRN having a first physical cellidentity (PCI) and information on the first PCI from a user equipment(UE); when the MRN enters a coverage of the source DeNB, receiving MRNcell information from the MRN, wherein the MRN cell information includesan indicator indicating the MRN supports mobility and includes the firstPCI; receiving a second measurement result with respect to a target DeNBhaving a second PCI and information on the second PCI from the MRN;determining to initiate a handover procedure of the UE from the sourceDeNB to one of the MRN and the target DeNB by using at least one of thefirst measurement result, the first PCI, the second measurement result,the second PCI and the indicator, wherein the first PCI is identical tothe second PCI; and forwarding the MRN cell information to the targetDeNB.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the MRN cell information isincluded in one of a radio resource control (RRC) connection setupcomplete message, an RRC connection reestablishment complete message, anRRC connection reconfiguration complete message, or a new uplinkmessage.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the MRN cell information isforwarded to the target DeNB through an X2 interface or an S1 interface.4. The method of claim 1, wherein the MRN cell information is forwardedto the target DeNB via a handover request message.
 5. A source donoreNodeB (DeNB) in a wireless communication system, the source DeNBcomprising: a radio frequency (RF) unit configured to transmit andreceive a radio signal; and a processor coupled to the RF unit andconfigured to: receive a first measurement result with respect to amobile relay node (MRN) having a first physical cell identity (PCI) andinformation on the first PCI from a user equipment (UE), when the MRNenters a coverage of the source DeNB, receive MRN cell information fromthe MRN, wherein the MRN cell information includes an indicatorindicating the MRN supports mobility and includes the first PCI, receivea second measurement result with respect to a target DeNB having asecond PCI and information on the second PCI from the MRN, determine toinitiate a handover procedure of the UE from the source DeNB to one ofthe MRN and the target DeNB by using at least one the first measurementresult, the first PCI, the second measurement result, the second PCI andthe indicator, wherein the first PCI is identical to the second PCI, andforward the MRN cell information to the target DeNB.
 6. The source DeNBof claim 5, wherein the MRN cell information is included in one of aradio resource control (RRC) connection setup complete message, an RRCconnection reestablishment complete message, an RRC connectionreconfiguration complete message, or a new uplink message.
 7. The sourceDeNB of claim 5, wherein the MRN cell information is forwarded to thetarget DeNB through an X2 interface or an S1 interface.
 8. The sourceDeNB of claim 5, wherein the MRN cell information is forwarded to thetarget DeNB via a included in a handover request message.